Mel Gibson and the Anti-Defamation League Disagree on Latest Mel Gibson Slur Allegations

Yesterday, shortly after Warner Bros. announced that it had put Mel Gibson’s historical drama about Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee on hold after rejecting a script from Basic Instinct screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, a scathingly accusatory nine-page missive from said screenwriter suspiciously appeared on the Internet. The letter, which is addressed to Gibson on April 9, alleges that the scandal-prone actor never contacted Eszterhas upon receiving his draft and never intended to make the film dubbed “the Jewish Braveheart” in the first place. To either bolster his point or defame the actor, or both, Eszterhas detailed several alleged meetings with Gibson that, if true, involved wildly anti-Semitic remarks, evidence of a serious rage problem, threats to have someone killed, and a dinner party in which Gibson chased a Nebraskan priest around his Malibu home while shouting, “F--- you! Get out of my house!” Charming! Already, both Gibson and the Anti-Defamation League have circulated responses to this development.

Last night, Gibson issued a surprisingly rational letter to Eszterhas via Deadline. The actor’s sentiments are pretty much summarized by this first-paragraph burn:

Joe,

I have your letter. I am not going to respond to it line by line, but I will say that the great majority of the facts as well as the statements and actions attributed to me in your letter are utter fabrications. I would have thought that a man of principle, as you purport to be, would have withdrawn from the project regardless of the money if you truly believed me to be the person you describe in your letter. I guess you only had a problem with me after Warner Brothers rejected your script.

The Anti-Defamation League had a different take on the incident, explained in a statement to the press this morning:

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said allegations by a screenwriter against actor Mel Gibson, including claims he routinely uttered anti-Semitic epithets in private conversations and made comments denying the Holocaust, would be surprising "if not for the fact that it fits nicely into a pattern of a serial offender, a serial hater, a serial bigot. [...] Had these allegations been made against any other actor, we would be skeptical, and certainly one could chalk them up to the words of a disgruntled screenwriter whose script was rejected. But with Mel Gibson they follow a distinct pattern of anti-Semitic conduct," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

This is surely not the last to be written in Chapter: We Lost Count in the growing Anthology of Mel Gibson P.R. Disasters. Stay tuned for further coverage.